Here’s another band on the InsideOut Music roster that I’ve never heard before. I was expecting it to be some technical metal type album but I was wrong. It seems that the band, Sieges Even, has been away for a while and re-emerge with a new singer that helped to change their sound.
It seems that their new vocalist Arno Menses fit what the band needed. He doesn’t rely on the vocal acrobatics that most prog-metal bands do. In fact he has a warm welcoming feel to his voice that makes this type of music easier to listen to. On this latest release they have abandoned that approach for a more melodic and atmospheric feel. There are some hints of that technical side present but in done as needed.
The result is the new album titled The Art of Navigation By the Stars. It seems their earlier albums was more in the realm of “how many notes can we play within each song”. That gave them comparisons to Rush and Cynic to name a few. I even found similarities to other InsideOut Music artists such as Enchant and Tiles.
This is a fantastic album that should be heard by prog and rock fans alike, while it’s not going to set the world on fire it is a welcome addition to those fans’ CD collection. This release is easily one of 2005's biggest surprises and gets a recommended release approval from me.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on November 8th, 2005
